Children's Competence Research Articles

Music as a Tool in Learning: Improvements in Basic Competences in Children Studying an Integrated Music Programme

Son Serra (Son Serra State Primary School), in Mallorca, is the first state-run school in the Balearic Islands to offer integrated music and non-integrated pathways to students in the same class. This study aims to compare the results of students from the fourth year of primary education from both pathways in a maths, Spanish, Catalan and English language level tests. Socioeconomic information on the children's families was also gathered. The results showed students from the integrated music group always outperforming their peers from the non-integrated group in the four assessed competences. Having established that the families’ socioeconomic status does not condition these results, the benefits of receiving more music practice were discussed.

Visual Function and Neuropsychological Profiling of Idiopathic Infantile Nystagmus.

Though considered a benign condition, idiopathic infantile nystagmus (IIN) may be associated with decreased visual acuity and oculo-motor abnormalities, resulting in developmental delays and poor academic performance. Nevertheless, the specific visual function profile of IIN and its possible impact on neuropsychological development have been poorly investigated. To fill this gap, we retrospectively collected the clinical data of 60 children presenting with IIN over a 10-year period (43 male; mean age of 7 years, range of 2 months-17 years, 9 months). The majority of the subjects in our cohort presented with reduced visual acuity for far distances and normal visual acuity for near distances, associated with oculo-motor abnormalities. The overall scores of cognitive and visual-cognitive tests were in the normal range, but revealed peculiar cognitive and visual-cognitive profiles, defined by specific frailties in processing speed and visual-motor integration. The same neuropsychological profiles characterize many neurodevelopmental disorders and may express a transnosographic vulnerability of the dorsal stream. As the first study to explore the neuropsychologic competencies in children with IIN, our study unveils the presence of subclinical frailties that need to be addressed to sustain academic and social inclusion.

Associations between motor competence and physical activity levels of children with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder: Movement matters.

Motor competence is important for lifelong physical activity (PA). The current study aimed to examine associations between PA and motor competence. In total, 43 children aged 7-12years with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder completed anthropometric measures, the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2, and wore a wrist accelerometer to capture total PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), average acceleration, and intensity gradient. No significant associations were found between PA outcomes and motor competence. Motor competence performance was commonly 'below average' or 'average'. The weakest subtests were upper limb coordination and strength. The strongest subtest was running speed and agility. Total weekly MVPA was 336.1 ± 150.3min, higher than UK recommendations of 120-180 per week for disabled children and young people. Larger scale studies are needed to better understand the relationship between PA and motor competence. Future research should also consider the influence of environmental factors on PA in this group.

Child-initiated informings and conversational participation in a bilingual preschool

This paper explores children's interactional competence in the context of bilingual early childhood education, looking specifically at how very young children initiate conversations with teachers by informing them about something interesting and new. Video recordings collected from ethnographic fieldwork in a Swedish–English preschool are investigated from the conversation analytic perspective, paying particular attention to multimodal aspects of naturally-occurring interactions. The analysis reveals that in initiating informings aimed at teachers in a multiparty institutional setting, children practice their bilingual skills in turn-taking and recipient design, and present their topic as relevant and coherent within the local material and conversational context. In so doing, children navigate institutional constraints on participation, secure teachers' recipiency, and establish themselves as knowledgeable speakers. Child-initiated participation in multiparty institutional settings provides a co-operative, transformative social process that constitutes an essential affordance for children's development of interactional competence in a bilingual educational context.

Effectiveness of Social Virtual Reality Training in Enhancing Social Interaction Skills in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Protocol for a Three-Arm Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders among children. Children with ADHD have challenges in understanding social cues and behavioral problems when entering a social setting. Virtual reality (VR) has been applied to improve cognitive behaviors in children with ADHD. Previous studies have not adopted VR to improve social interaction competence and appropriateness in children with ADHD. VR offers a more effective alternative to therapeutic strategies for children with ADHD. This study aims to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of social VR training in enhancing social interaction skills compared to traditional social skills training in children with ADHD. We hypothesize that participants in the social VR training group are likely to perform better on social interaction skills than those in the traditional social skills training group. In this nonblinded, 3-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT), 90 participants with ADHD recruited from the community will be randomized 1:1:1 to the social VR intervention group, traditional social skills training group, or waitlist control group. The child psychiatrist will conduct assessments for each participant at baseline and after the intervention. The Social Skills Rating Scale-Parent will be used to assess the social interaction skills of the participants before and after the intervention. Participants in the social VR intervention group and traditional social skills training group will receive twelve 20-minute training sessions for 3 weeks. The participants in the waitlist control group will receive no training. The primary outcome measure is training acceptability and compliance. The secondary outcome measures are the child psychiatrist's assessment and the Social Skills Rating Scale-Parent before and after the intervention. Another outcome measure is the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and Attention. Differences in the scale scores will be examined using a t test and an F test. This study is set to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023. It is anticipated that participants in the social VR intervention group will exhibit superior social interaction skills than those in the traditional social skills training group. To our knowledge, this RCT is the first study examining the feasibility and effectiveness of a social VR-based intervention for enhancing the social interaction skills of children with ADHD in Hong Kong. The VR-based social skills training is expected to provide a safer and more effective environment for children with ADHD to learn than the traditional approach. This study can lead to a full-scale RCT. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05778526; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05778526. PRR1-10.2196/48208.

Associations of ADHD-Risk and Motor Competence With School Functioning

Objectives: This study investigated the unique associations of motor competence and ADHD risk status on school functioning. Additionally, this study examined the factor structure of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Short Form (BOT2-SF). Methods: Participants included early elementary school children (N = 202, Mage = 6.83, SD = 0.96, Male = 53.5%, ADHD-risk = 46.5%). Child assessments of motor competence and teacher and parent reports of school functioning were used. Results: A two-factor model of the BOT2-SF with correlated fine and gross motor factors and correlated residuals best fit the data. Fine and gross motor competence were unique positive predictors of academic performance, after accounting for the effects of ADHD-risk on academic performance. ADHD-risk was the only unique predictor of adaptive school behavior. Conclusion: Findings suggest that assessing for ADHD and motor competence in children demonstrating school functioning problems may better allow for targeted intervention in school.

O.6.1-2 Motor competencies of elementary-school aged children – investigating the conjoint impact of parenting, school grounds quality, children’s movement behavior and self-confidence

Abstract Purpose To understand factors that impact on children’s motor competencies (MCs) from a socio-ecological perspective. Methods The study is a cross-sectional sub-study of a three-year longitudinal cohort study called ‘Physical Literacy for communities (PL4C)’ in the West Vancouver school district. Motor competencies were assessed by the Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth (PLAY) Fun tool. Children were asked to perform 18 different movement tasks across five domains: running, locomotor, upper and lower body control, balance. Children’s objective physical activity was measured using wrist-worn accelerometer Actigraph GT3X+BT. Through a survey, parents were asked about their children’s amount of time playing outside during workdays and weekdays as well as time doing sports or instructor-led physical activity. The Activity Support Scale for Multiple Groups (ACTS-MG) were included in the survey measuring parental support for children’s physical activity. Quality of the 14 school grounds was measured by using the Sport, Physical activity and Eating behavior: Environmental Determinants in young people (SPEEDY) school grounds audit tool existing of six component scores: cycling provision, walking provision, sports and play facilities provision, other facility provision, design of the school grounds, aesthetics. Results Complete assessment of motor competencies (with PlayFun) were done for 319 children with average age of 7.5 years (90%; 166 boys, 147 girls, 6 non-binaries), whereof the majority was on an emerging- level (79%) regarding overall MC and one fifth on competent- level (n = 67). Participants accumulated MVPA about 111 minutes per day (113 min/d for boys, 109 min/d for girls, p = 0.37). Children with competent-level MC had in average 15 minutes/day more MVPA compared to children with emerging-level MC (p = 0.001). Analysis with structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that direct significant effects of parenting, school grounds quality, children’s movement behavior varied for each MC and overall MC and between gender. ‘Logistics’ turned out to influence significantly positive most often, and had a positive significant effect on males and females overall MC (g = 0.267, p = 0.004 and g = 0.247, p = 0.011). Conclusions Beside parents logistics support and participation in sports, school grounds seems to impact positively children’s MCs, yet different school grounds qualities enhance girls’ and boys’ MCs in different ways.

O.4.6-10 Move! – A national monitoring system for health-related fitness and motor competence of Finnish school-aged children and adolescents

Abstract Purpose The Move! system was launched in 2016 and it aims to provide systematic feedback to students on their physical performance, and to collect annual nationwide data on physical performance from 5th and 8th grade students (11–15 years old). The physical performance in the Move! system has been operationalized to include components of health-related fitness and motor competence, which are ideally needed during adolescence and later in life. Project description The Move! is included in the national core curriculum for physical education (PE) and is therefore targeted for all students. Move! measurements include 20m shuttle run (endurance), 5-leaps (strength of the lower body, locomotor skills, stability skills), throwing-catching combination (object control skills), curl-up (endurance of abdominal muscles), push-up (endurance of upper body muscles), and flexibility tests. The Move! results are used extensively. In schools, PE teachers give immediate feedback to students during and after test sessions. In addition, teachers can utilize Move! data when designing PE programs and lessons. Students’ results are sent home, and parents are encouraged to discuss the results and their implications with their children. Students and their parents are directed to the Move! web pages, where they are provided with more information about the tests along with guidance on how to develop different elements of physical performance. The results are also utilized in healthcare as school nurses and doctors consider students’ physical performance information along with other health data. Through a database, it is possible to follow students’ physical performance development. The data can also be used in informed decision-making at national and local levels. Conclusions The Move! system annually reaches a vast majority of Finnish grade 5 and 8 students (>100 000), schools (>2000), and municipalities (>95 %). The system ties together school PE, health care, and data-informed decision-making, and can be seen as a pedagogical innovation enhancing Finnish students’ health-related fitness, physical activity, and overall well-being.

Applying recommendation system for developing programming competencies in children from a non-weird context

The information society is part of current life, and algorithmic thinking and programming are relevant for everybody regardless of educational background. Today’s world needs professionals with computing competencies from WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic Societies) and non-WEIRD contexts. Traditional programming languages include syntax barriers that complicate their overall adoption and usefulness for people from a non-WEIRD context. To solve it, block-based programming languages like Scratch permit the development of programming competencies without syntax restrictions in online environments. This article presents empirical evidence of the positive impact of Scratch with the CARAMBA recommendation system for lessons and exercises proposals based on collaborative filtering of personalized learning from students’ experiences. Previous experiences demonstrated that students require assistance in successfully defining sub-competencies and exercises to develop programming competencies by applying Scratch. This work shows the application of Scratch and CARAMBA in a non-WEIRD school context for developing programming competencies. Obtained results show that developing exercises with Scratch and CARAMBA motivated students’ autonomy, and as well, the programming learning application increased exam scores in all the analyzed grades. Those results encourage us to continue using Scratch and CARAMBA for developing programming competencies in similar non-WEIRD contexts.

Pragmatic Competence of Children With Cochlear Implants in Linguistic Activities.

The objective of the study was to analyze the pragmatic competence of children with cochlear implants (CIs). The researchers explored whether children with CIs participated in communicative exchanges in a similar way to children with typical hearing (TH), as well as how the participation of children with CIs was regulated by the activity they performed. The sample consisted of 31 children with CIs (prelingually deaf, with a hearing age equal to or greater than 2 years) and 31 children with TH. The researchers used two activities to carry out the study: conversation and picture naming. The results showed that the children with CIs participated in longer communicative exchanges than their peers with TH and had greater difficulty providing adequate responses to their interlocutor. The type of linguistic activity and their hearing age influenced the responses of the children with CIs.

다문화가정 여성과 자녀의 유튜브에 대한 인식 및 활용 경험에 대한 이해: 생애사 이야기식 접근으로

This study conducted in-depth interviews using Schütze's(1983) biographical narrative approach to explore the perceptions and experiences of YouTube among three multicultural women and three children in K County, within the context of their life stories. The research findings are as follows. First, they discerned the value of watching YouTube videos and perceived YouTube as an active companion and a realm of engagement in their lives. The participants of the study perceived YouTube as a source of solace, joy, and hopeful future. YouTube was a space where individuals could enjoy their native culture and music while on foreign soil, simultaneously facilitating inter-generational communication and shared joy among different cultures and generations. Furthermore, multicultural women with insufficient educational backgrounds envisioned becoming cultural exchange YouTubers on a platform where formal education was not a necessity. In the meantime, the counter productive aspects of YouTube were also mentioned, which make them compare their lives with those of successful multicultural women on YouTube. However, during YouTube viewing, they demonstrated a discerning attitude toward the economic value and commercial aspects, making efforts to distinguish between the fictitious and genuine aspects of videos. Secondly, regarding the utilisation experience of YouTube, multicultural women and children use YouTube in their daily lives, sometimes becoming addicted to it, but prioritising privacy protection and professionalism regarding video creation and sharing. YouTube deeply integrated into their lives, fostering a sense of intimacy and connection with others. While multicultural children possessed video creation skills, women felt a sense of regret due to a lack of opportunities and time for learning. Furthermore, although some participants expressed concerns about privacy exposure in video creation and sharing, some women aimed to help others through video production and sharing. Therefore, this study suggests developing and implementing programs by social welfare facilities and educational institutions to enhance the YouTube literacy competence of multicultural women and children. These programs should focus on helping them distinguish the commercial and fictitious aspects of YouTube while enabling them to accumulate collective knowledge through video viewing, communication, video creation, and sharing activities, thereby preparing them for the future and utilising YouTube as a platform for economic engagement.

Does vision therapy for visual information processing improve academic performance? A randomised clinical trial.

To determine whether a typical vision therapy (VT) programme designed to improve visual information processing (VIP) skills is effective in improving these skills and/or academic performance. We used a double-blind, randomised clinical trial to compare VIP VT to placebo training. Participating schools referred a sample of 579 early primary school children identified as being within the lower third of their class for literacy. From the referred sample, we identified 247 children eligible to participate (passed visions and auditory processing screening, and VIP performance <34th percentile), 94 of whom participated. Matching IQ, school grade and sex was achieved by sorting hierarchically on these values and then alternately allocating to VT or placebo groups. Both programmes ran for 10 weeks and consisted of 33 h working at home and 4 h working in office. The VT programme was indicative of that employed in Australian paediatric optometry practices, with the placebo programme containing similar activities, except targeting skills within a child's competencies and with specific VIP development activities removed. The main outcome measures were score change on three standardised educational tests (reading comprehension, spelling and mathematics) and six VIP tests, both immediately post-intervention (PI) and 6 months later. Sixty-nine children completed the programmes. The VT programme produced no significant improvement in the three educational tests or in five of the six VIP tests compared to the control. The VT programme improved visual sequential memory (VSM) by a moderate amount compared to the control (Cohen's d = 0.57 and 0.52, immediately PI and at 6 months, respectively: p < 0.03 and p < 0.02). The VIP and academic performance benefits from a VT programme were largely identical to those from a control programme, both immediately and 6-month PI. Placebo effects and general effects such as improvements in executive function and/or regression-to-the-mean could be mistaken for specific programme effectiveness.

Children’s perceptions of teacher feedback: Portuguese validation of a scale

ABSTRACT This research aims to validate the Portuguese version of the Teacher Feedback Scale (TFS) in a sample of 628 children from third and fourth grade. Teacher feedback is a crucial factor in child development, with an impact in students’ motivation and learning. It provides daily cognitive and emotional information about children’s academic performance and their abilities as learners. The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and subsequent confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that the TFS consists of five subscales: praise, ability-effort in reading, ability-effort in math, general negative feedback and specific negative feedback. The measure shows that good reliability estimates and factor loadings were invariant across gender. Evidence of predictive validity is presented through gender differences and associations of feedback with children's competence perceptions. The potential of the measure in educational settings and research is discussed.

Effectiveness of Nutrition and Play Activities in Enhancing Basic Motor Skills of Urban Children Over a 16-Week Period

This research was carried out on the basis of the low basic motor competence of urban children. It is estimated that there are many influencing factors including play activity methods and nutritional status. This study aims to determine the effect of play activity methods on nutritional status in urban children. This type of research is a quasi-experimental with a total sample of 40 people based on certain considerations. Basic movement skills are obtained by the TGMD-2 test which consists of object control and locomotor, then nutritional status data is obtained by measuring body mass index. Data were analyzed using a quantitative t test technique that describes comparative data. The results of the research and data analysis show that: 1) There are differences in the basic movement skills of students who have high and low nutritional status 2) There is an interaction between learning approaches and nutritional status. 3) There are differences in the basic movement skills of students who are given a playing approach that has a high nutritional status. 4) There are differences in the basic movement skills of students who are given a playing approach that has low nutritional status. The findings in this study show that children who have high nutrition enjoy playing activities more and are more physically active compared to children who have low nutrition in play activities. and play activity is an intermediary to see the movement skills of children Keywords: approach to play, nutritional status, basic movements of children, TGMD-2.

Configurations of mother-child and father-child attachment relationships as predictors of child language competence: An individual participant data meta-analysis.

An individual participant data meta-analysis was conducted to test pre-registered hypotheses about how the configuration of attachment relationships to mothers and fathers predicts children's language competence. Data from seven studies (published between 1985 and 2014) including 719 children (Mage : 19.84 months; 51% female; 87% White) were included in the linear mixed effects analyses. Mean language competence scores exceeded the population average across children with different attachment configurations. Children with two secure attachment relationships had higher language competence scores compared to those with one or no secure attachment relationships (d = .26). Children with two organized attachment relationships had higher language competence scores compared to those with one organized attachment relationship (d = .23), and this difference was observed in older versus younger children in exploratory analyses. Mother-child and father-child attachment quality did not differentially predict language competence, supporting the comparable importance of attachment to both parents in predicting developmental outcomes.

Parents, Teachers, and Community: A Team Approach to Developing Physical Competence in Children.

Increasing children's physical activity engagement has short- and long-term health benefits. Developing physical competence is a key component of children's engagement in physical activity. The purpose of our study was to assess if a 12-week home, school, and community-based physical literacy intervention improved the physical competence of children in kindergarten and grade one. Four schools were either assigned to receive the intervention (n = 2 schools) or continue with their usual practice (control sites) (n = 2 schools). Physical competence was evaluated pre- and post-intervention in 103 intervention (41 female) and 83 usual practice (36 female) children using PLAY Fun. PLAY Parent and PLAY Coach tools measured parent and teacher perspectives of children's physical competence, respectively. The intervention effect was assessed with repeated measures MANOVA to evaluate change in physical competence, with alpha set at p < 0.05. Children in both groups improved their locomotor, object control, and overall physical competence (p < 0.05) over the 12-week intervention. There was a significant intervention effect for locomotor and overall physical competence (p < 0.05). Interestingly, parents did not perceive these changes in physical competence (p > 0.05). However, teachers perceived improved physical competence for children in the intervention. Our physical literacy intervention improved the physical competence of children in kindergarten and grade one.

The impact of cerebral visual impairment on school related competences in elementary school children

The impact of cerebral visual impairment on school related competences in elementary school children

‘Being well’: the master key to unlocking competencies? How outdoor and adventure activities contribute to the development of children within a competency-based curriculum

ABSTRACT The Draft Primary Curriculum Framework (NCCA 2020) and the Primary Curriculum Framework in Ireland (NCCA, 2023) identified 'Wellbeing' as a broad curricular area. This study explores the inclusion of outdoor and adventure activities (OAA) in a redeveloped curriculum to support one of the seven key competencies, 'Being Well' (NCCA 2023). Four semi-structured interviews were conducted with expert participants to elicit their views on OAA within a redeveloped curriculum. The findings show that OAA has the potential to foster wellbeing and other competencies, but it is currently neglected due to demands on teachers and a lack of support. These findings suggest that if OAA is to realise its potential, teachers require strong leadership and consistent support to become competent and confident in teaching OAA, underpinned by an understanding of its potential. Further research is needed to track OAA's implementation in schools and its contribution to children's competencies.

Polish adaptation of multisource assessment of children’s social competence

This study aimed to adapt the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale for the Polish population. The population examined in the study included only Polish participants of European (Caucasian) ancestry. The tool is composed of two scales, Prosocial and Antisocial, and four subscales. For the purpose of adaptation, children’s social competence was evaluated based on their own and their parents’ perspective. The sample consisted of children aged 9–15 (n = 253) and their parents (n = 248), with boys and girls accounting for 43% (n = 109) and 57% (n = 144) of child participants, respectively. All the participants originated from the western-central Greater Poland Voivodeship. The data analyzed in this study were collected in 2019. Internal consistency of the subscales and correlation between them were measured using Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient and Spearman's correlation coefficient, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for both groups (children and parents) in two-, three- and four-factor models. The confirmatory factor analysis for both groups (children and parents) attributed the four-factor model with the highest goodness-of-fit, fulfilling the criteria of a good-fitting model. The results show that the Multisource Assessment of Children’s Social Competence Scale is an appropriately adapted tool for the evaluation of the social competence of children in Poland, taking different rater perspectives into account.

Language Sample Analysis to Assess Communicative Competence of Children Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Communicative competence for people who use augmentative and alternative communication consists of four interrelated domains: linguistic, strategic, social, and operational. Ongoing assessment and progress monitoring within these domains is crucial to (a) providing information to teach targeted skills in a manner contextualized within the curriculum, (b) determining measurable annual individualized education plan goals, and, ultimately, (c) ensuring maximal participation in the school environment. Currently, language sample analysis (LSA) is one of only three assessment techniques that provide information across each domain of communicative competence for children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). As such, LSA is a valuable tool for assessing communication competence in children who use AAC in the school setting. This clinical forum describes information that may be obtained from an LSA as it relates to each domain of communicative competence and educational standards.